Sold For $15,495
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Rare, complete example of the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory in its original reed suitcase, measuring 25˝ x 16.5˝ x 5˝, created by Alfred Carlton Gilbert, known for his development of the Erector Set and popular chemistry kits. The laboratory kit contains a cloud chamber, allowing the viewer to watch alpha particles traveling at 12,000 miles per second; a spinthariscope showing the results of radioactive disintegration on a fluorescent screen; and an electroscope measuring the radioactivity of different substances in the set: carnotite, autunite, torbernite, and uraninite.
Includes the original 59-page "Gilbert Atomic Energy Manual," a "Prospecting for Uranium" guide published in 1949 by the US Atomic Energy Commission and US Geological Survey, a "Dagwood Splits the Atom" instructional comic book, an "Adventures Inside the Atom" comic book, an “Inorganic Structure Kit” instruction sheet from Metaloglass, Inc., a “Radioactive Source Replacement” form, and an “Inspector’s Voucher” from the A.C. Gilbert Company date-stamped August 21, 1950. In very good to fine condition, with some scuffing and edgewear to the case and the interior artwork.
Components list:
- Battery-powered Geiger-Müller counter
- Electroscope
- Spinthariscope
- Wilson cloud chamber with a short-lived alpha source (Po-210) in the form of a wire
- Four glass jars containing natural uranium-bearing (U-238) ore samples (autunite, torbernite, uraninite, and carnotite from the ‘Colorado plateau region’)
- Low-level radiation sources (beta-alpha (Pb-210); pure beta (possibly Ru-106); and gamma (Zn-65))
- ‘Nuclear spheres’ for making a model of an alpha particle
- Three ‘C’ Batteries
Produced only in 1950 and 1951, with fewer than 5000 sold total, this set is extremely rare and highly coveted. In 2006, the pop culture publication Radar Magazine called the lab set one of 'the 10 most dangerous toys of all time' because it contained radioactive material. The professional journal IEEE Spectrum published a more-detailed review in 2020, discussing the kit in the context of the history of science education kits and safety concerns. It described the likely radiation exposure as 'minimal, about the equivalent of a day’s UV exposure from the sun,' provided that the radioactive samples were not removed from their containers, in compliance with the warnings in the kit instructions.
